From Cluley Projects:

"CLULEY PROJECTS is pleased to announce Flowers in the Dark – a solo exhibition by North-Texas based artist Eric Rodriguez, otherwise known as Drigo. The exhibition will be on view February 11^th through March 18^th, 2023, at Cluley Projects, 2123 Sylvan Avenue. An opening reception will be held Saturday, February 11^th from 4 – 7 PM. The gallery is open weekly Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 5 PM and by appointment.

Drawing on personal experience, Drigo’s creative practice explores the intersections of contemporary graphic design, ancient Mexican mythology, skater culture and spirituality. The Chicano artist’s laid-back and distinctly graphic style eases into the grooves of whatever brick wall, concrete slab or canvas he is working on. An elaborate narrative traverses Drigo’s professional work — characters known as “Travelers,” depicted with vibrant skin and mythic headdress, roam a dreamlike multiverse created from the mind of the artist himself. Through these characters, the artist develops an effusive lexicon, which is at once fantastical and familiar. 

In his newest exhibition, Flowers in the Dark, Drigo expands his narrative universe. The artist’s newest work melds a surreal visual language with scenes of recovery and spiritual redemption. Inspired by the Cereus repandus or Peruvian Apple Cactus and its nocturnal bloom, Drigo explores the tenuous process of healing through and from adversity. In their latest iterations, the “Travelers,” maintain a calming stoicism against strange and alluring landscapes. Flowers in the Dark, depicts these otherworldly figures as champions of their emotional and physical renewal. Despite their challenges, the “Travelers,” find ways to bloom beautifully in the night. 

Flowers in the Dark features a series of new paintings by the artist. In these works, Drigo displays his command of monumental and intimate scenes rendered in colorful, balanced compositions. The artist’s newest paintings further explore his unique combination of ancient Mexican culture, new age spirituality and modernist design.

About the Artist Eric Rodriguez, aka “Drigo”, is a North-Texas based, Chicano artist. He received his AAS in Graphic Design from Collin County Community College in 2016. Rodriquez’s artistic practice draws from his graphic design background as well as Mexican American and Skater cultures.

Since 2016, Rodriquez has garnered critical and commercial acclaim for his mural work. In 2021, he was commissioned to paint a mural on one side of the Broadway Chapter Apartments parking garage. Spanning 5,000 sq ft. and five-stories, Rodriquez’s work is currently the largest public mural in Fort Worth, TX.

He has collaborated with local and global companies including Zumiez, Samsung Mobile, Essentia and IBM. In 2016, clothing and lifestyle brand, Zumiez, invited Rodriquez to create a collaborative mural in Oahu, Hawaii to promote their new Converse Cons skate shoe line. In 2019, Zumiez commissioned him to design and paint the 4DWN Skatepark for the brand’s Best Foot Forward Finals. In 2020, Rodriquez collaborated with Samsung Mobile for Hispanic Heritage Month where his work was displayed on prominent NYC billboards in Times Square and One World Trade.

His work has been featured in D Magazine, Glasstire, Fort Worth Magazine and other online publications. Rodriquez is currently working on a permanent installation to be displayed at Meow Wolf’s Grapevine, TX location opening in 2023.

Erin Cluley Gallery’s satellite gallery Cluley Projects opened in April 2021 and is housed in an 1100 sq ft space on Sylvan Avenue within walking distance from the Belmont Hotel. Cluley Projects will act as an incubator space focusing on regional artists and providing a platform for discovery and mentorship.